


other things than the sun

by tanyart



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Introspection, Knives As A Metaphor, Light Headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 07:03:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17914082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tanyart/pseuds/tanyart
Summary: Shinobu gives Shin a lesson on the newest knife trick.





	other things than the sun

**Author's Note:**

> A small introspective scene that kinda got out of hand. Takes place a couple of weeks after the Red War, but way before The Last Word quest.

Shinobu’s smile was sharp when Shin had asked for advice.

“Well, for starters, the pointy part’s the end that you _don’t_ hold-” she began helpfully as Nadiya let out a bark of laughter from her perch on a nearby tree.

“I know what a knife is, thanks,” Shin said with the resigned monotone of knowing he was in for a hard time.

At least it showed how much he was willing to sacrifice, putting up with both her and Nadiya. In all honesty, Shinobu wasn’t exactly sure what advice she _could_ give to Shin, who by all rights was a great fighter on his own. _Mythical_ , even.

But Shin knew as well as she did that being one hell of a gunslinger was no excuse to get rusty in other things. After the Red War, all the cool kids were making something new of their powers. The last thing all the older Guardians wanted to do was fall behind. The latest Solar fad amongst their lot had a lot to do with knives — the younger generation of Hunters were calling it _Way of a Thousand Cuts_ , with a fancy new move called Blade Barrage. Shinobu had gotten the hang of it pretty fast herself, given her weapon preferences. It was better than the current _Arc Staff_ trend, at any rate. Waving a taser stick around? No thanks.

Still, it made sense Shin was trying to perfect his Blade Barrage. No one tended to go far in life without knowing when to adapt, Hunters especially.

Shinobu regarded him with a sidelong glance. He looked so solemn too; been that way ever since his hunt had taken him back to The City. Ah, well, maybe it was a good thing he wanted to broaden his horizons. It was flattering he went to her in the first place. She guessed she should show a little grace for it.

“Well, guess throwing a knife’s just like firing a gun,” Shinobu said, scratching the back of her head. “‘Cept the knife’s the bullet and your arm’s a gun.”

That got a smile out of Shin. “Perfect analogy.”

Best start off with the bare minimum. Shinobu took a moment to focus her Light, willing the usual Arc energy vibrating in her to turn to warm Solar fire. It was by far the easiest of the energies to swap between the three of them — an electric spark for a spark of fire. Shinobu felt her whole body flare with heat before it settled.

She held out her hand. “Okay, let’s see your knife.”

Shin seemed to appreciate her forthright request now that their teasing was over and done with. He summoned a blade with a quick turn of his wrist. Nadiya jumped down from her tree to approach them, also wanting to watch. If Shin was bothered by her scrutiny, he didn’t say and neither did it show from the steadfast brightness of his Solar energy.

Shin handed Shinobu the Solar-created knife, the differing Light frequencies giving out a thready hiss as the blade exchanged hands.

It was a simplistic, straight edged blade with a sharp point that seemed to suit Shin's straightforward personality. Most of the time, a Hunter’s unique blade of Light told more about the Hunter than the Hunter themselves. Shinobu knew Nadiya's blade, when summoned, was double edged, and had a handle that reminded her of multifaceted gems. And on days when they were being playful, Nadiya’s blade glided across her skin like ice and stabbed into her just as smoothly.

Shinobu flipped the knife, testing the balance and weight. Since it wasn’t a knife of her own creation, it burned against her palm despite Shin’s familiar Solar energy. She ignored the pain and took a closer look, the unique detailing of the handle nabbing her curiosity. There was an inlaid pattern made from flickering embers, etched in deep red and running down one edge.

It seemed a little strange, a little too pretty and glowy from what she knew of Shin. Was it vanity? A manifestation of pride? She turned the knife around and realized glowing pattern reminded her of The Last Word, the stark sawtooth design along the barrel a perfect match.

Not vanity then. _In memoriam._

The knife turned to smoke, its Solar energy dissipating. Shinobu shook out her hand, ash falling from her open palm, and let her Ghost fix up the burns. Charred skin was never a nice smell. “Well, whatever problems your having, it isn’t the knife.”

Shin grunted, unsurprised. Nadiya lightly punched his shoulder. “Might need a live demonstration from you.”

It took a moment for them to set up and decide how best to do it. Eventually, Shin took his place some distance away from Shinobu and Nadiya, one hand at his belt. All three of their Ghosts surrounded him from all angles, blinking their lights in unison.

“Alright, you all charged up?” Shinobu called out. Next to her, Nadiya closed her eyes, also trying to get a good feel around Shin’s Light. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Shin jumped and threw, his form well practiced and graceful as he twisted into the air, a thousand molten lines of gold trailing behind each knife. A wave of heat emitted from him, followed by an angry roar of fire, and then it was over in a blink. Shinobu reached out for his Light and its strength — it used to be that she was intimidated by the amount of raw Solar energy Shin had in him, especially in her early days as a Guardian, but she had long grown used to its intensity.

Besides, he was charmingly careful in his presentation; each knife landed around Nadiya and Shinobu’s shadows. Shinobu smiled.

It perfectly fine Blade Barrage — would’ve nabbed him a kill or three in the Crucible and devastated rank enemies on the field. But if Shin felt something off then there was always room for improvement.

“Slow,” remarked Nadiya, opening her eyes. She looked around, noting where his knives fell. “And a show off.”

Shinobu snorted, stooping down to pick up an orb of Light that had formed from Shin’s leftover energy. The orb floated around her wrist once before she shattered it in her grip, setting off a burst of fiery sparks around her hand. Nadiya was right, though she probably had set her standards beyond high. Shin’s knives weren’t _slow_ , not by anyone’s usual expectations, but given Shin’s known speed, his Blade Barrage wasn’t as breathtakingly fast as it could’ve been. Something about it was sluggish. They knew it, and Shin knew it.

Shinobu looked over her shoulder. “Ghosts? If you can come back and we’ll watch the recordings.”

Once all three of their Ghosts drifted back, they stood back to watch the three projections. Shin stood to the side, idly cracking the knuckles of his throwing hand. He wasn’t paying attention; probably had recorded himself a hundred times before to puzzle out what was wrong. That, or he was getting shy.

Both Shinobu and Nadiya had been concentrating on the _feel_ of his Blade Barrage, how his energy levels and his Light waned and fluctuated, what was wasted or put to use in his knives. They relied on their Ghosts to capture Shin’s form, though Shinobu doubted there was going to be anything wrong with Shin’s physical technique.

After a few plays, Shinobu frowned. “I see your problem. You’re too worried about each knife. The trick is to not aim at all.”

Even from where she stood, she had an excellent visual of Shin’s mind collapsing in on itself. Nadiya coughed into her fist.

“Don't aim,” Shin echoed, whose hip-fire accuracy was so legendary it was still being sung about in the history books. “Oh, easy.”

“Shin, aiming hardly matters when you're throwing one thousand knives. So long as you pick, like, a general direction.”

“A general direction,” he repeated again, and rubbed his temples.

“You're acting like I’m telling you to tie a blindfold on and start flinging knives willy-nilly all over the place.”

“Ain't you now? I know Nadiya’s dying to record me making a fool outta myself,” Shin said dryly as he walked up to them. He threw Shinobu a dissatisfied look, but he sighed. “No, yeah, I gotcha. S'like drawing up a Golden Gun. Gut instinct. Just… feelin’ it in your heart. Having that steadfast belief in yourself.”

“Atta boy, Malphur,” Nadiya said, snorting.

Shin looked amused. “You don't think?”

“No, I agree,” Nadiya said with a bashful duck of her head that Shinobu likes so much. “Just not in those exact words.”

Shin’s romanticism aside, it was a popular school of thought among the nerdier Guardians; a weapon of Light was only as strong as a Lightbearer’s spirit, maybe even a reflection of it. Shin’s instinct was to be fast and accurate and true. All great things, in theory, but it left little room to stray out from his own lines.

Shinobu turned this over in her head, arms crossed and thinking. Shin always had a one-track mind, forever hellbent on _something_ — whether it was on a target or a hunt or even what he should do for dinner. And he had at least a hundred years on her, not that it mattered much when their collective ages spanned centuries. Still, fighting like that for so long, it wasn’t going to be a surprised if that drive was ingrained in him.

Even less surprising, he threw his blades like he was angry, though it was more or less the same with his Golden Gun, always aiming down his sights with wrathful precision. Shinobu wondered what would happen if Shin ever found himself lacking a true target. All that fiery power in him and nothing withstanding enough to burn it out.

It was probably a Solar People thing, having all that anger deep inside. Shinobu wasn’t going to be the one to say it. Luckily, she didn’t have to.

“Hey, you just happen to be pissed off every time you cast?” Nadiya asked with her typical amount of bluntness.

“Usually I’m fightin’ something, so yeah,” Shin said, like she’d asked if water was wet, “I get a lil’ chafed.”

Shinobu hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe, if you focus your anger-”

Shin blinked. “My anger? I’m not angry.”

She’d meant to say power, or Light. From the sharp way Shin looked at her, Shinobu knew she shouldn’t try to dodge around her slip. Maybe it’d end up helping him. “Ah, well. Just… when you cast… that’s the vibe I get. Mind you, it’s not _scary_ —” she added when Shin glanced at her, almost like he was hurt. She wrinkled her nose and tried again.

“You knew Eriana-3, right? How the people always talked about how bright she was. Asked her years ago how she managed her fire — was trying to get a grip on my Solar stuff at the time — and she said something ‘bout anger too. She told me, when she casted, all she thought about was burning everything away, _all of it_ , and she’d come out feeling better for it. Almost refreshed. That true for you?”

It wasn’t often she saw Shin look abashed. He tipped his head to one side, brow furrowing. He said, reluctant like he was a bit embarrassed, “Kinda. I’ve heard the same; fears, frustrations, anger — use Solar fire to burn it away, turn it to ash. Go back to a clean slate. I can see what Eriana meant.” He lapsed into silence, though he looked thoughtful about it.

Shinobu made a noise of acknowledgement, if not complete understanding. With Arc, it was different. She was always eager to draw up her blades, electrify the world around her, set it thrumming with energy. She ended thinking a whole lot about Nadiya too — setting to livewire sparks against Nadiya’s tranquil Void, just to see the ripples she could cause — but Shinobu kept that to herself.

“You look like you wanna try again,” she said, catching the way Shin’s fingers twitched the movements of spinning a blade.

“Hm,” he said, fingers stilling, despite the appearance of the knife with the sawtooth design in his hand. He glanced down at it, frowning. “Maybe next time.”

Maybe he’d rather psychoanalyze himself alone. Shinobu shrugged, and discreetly tugged at Nadiya’s cloak to keep her from goading him onward. “Sure.”

Shin nodded, though she knew that he wasn’t going to reach out again any time soon. “‘Preciate the help,” he said, and after they exchanged their brief good byes, transmatted away.

Shinobu stared at the empty space he left behind and made a face. Nadiya nudged her shoulder.

“Maybe he’ll get the hang of it on his own,” she said and added wryly, “Or maybe he’ll just be the Man with the Golden Gun for a while longer.”

Shinobu sighed.

 

* * *

 

(It would be months later before Shin showed her the Blade Barrage again, during a Crucible match where she least expected him.

He didn’t have The Last Word on him either, even though she’d already heard about the new Guardian carrying it around instead of him. Shinobu could admit to being caught off guard as his Light flared behind her, and Shinobu turned a little too late to catch the roar of Solar fire and a thousand knives flying towards her and her fireteam.

Everyone around her died, turned to cinders and ash. She didn’t, but a Solar knife had embedded at her shoulder, a little too shallow to be on accident. Shin had deliberately _missed_. Insulted, she pulled it out, ignoring the scorching burn.

His knife looked different. It _felt_ different. Shinobu glanced along the edge, surprised to see the red ember design had changed. The handle didn’t look exactly like The Last Word’s barrel anymore — it looked better, with its stark amber pattern clean over the blade, no longer etched so deep and angry.

Shinobu dropped the knife before it could disappear, palm burnt and singing with pain — _so bright, it hurt_ — but she smiled.)

 


End file.
